Here we take a look at some of the criminals locked up during the summer of 2024.
All of the information below comes from either Sussex Police or our reporters attending court in person.
41. Locked up in Sussex 2024: These are some of the criminals jailed between May and August
A disqualified driver has been jailed after he was stopped while driving in Worthing. Roads Policing Unit (RPU) officers found Mitchell Wilton behind the wheel of a Citroen van on the A27 in Upper Brighton Road. He was stopped because his vehicle showed him having no insurance, no valid MOT test, and Wilton was already disqualified. It was later found that Wilton, aged 32, had falsified insurance documents to carry on driving, despite being stopped. At Brighton Magistrates’ Court on June 7, it was noted that he had shown a 'flagrant disregard' for court orders. Wilton, of Wickhurst Road, Portslade, was jailed for four months. He was ordered to pay £400 court costs and was disqualified for 20 months. The court heard how he was stopped by RPU officers in a Citroen Relay van on June 13, 2022. He had been disqualified from driving in court on January 13 the same year. RPU officers noted the vehicle did not have a registered MOT test certificate since November 2021, and that Wilton’s licence was expired. Wilton was charged with driving while disqualified, driving without valid insurance, and driving without a valid MOT test, and admitted these charges in court on June 7. Officers later found the same vehicle abandoned in Bognor on January 21, 2023. Checks showed there were two falsified insurance policies obtained by Wilton on June 13, 2022, before his first arrest, and again on July 14, 2022. Wilton had obtained insurance without disclosing his criminal convictions and that he was in fact disqualified. Previously, at Worthing Magistrates’ Court on October 31, 2023, Wilton admitted two counts of making a false statement to obtain insurance. On that occasion he was sentenced to complete 120 hours of unpaid work. Photo: Sussex Police
42. Locked up in Sussex 2024: These are some of the criminals jailed between May and August
A gardener and his accomplice have been jailed for stealing thousands of pounds from their employers near Haywards Heath. Robert Mansbridge (left) was a gardener for a property in Portsmouth Lane, Lindfield for 25 years, but together with Craig Preston (right), they secretly burgled from the occupants. Police were called to a report of a residential burglary on May 4, 2023, in which thousands of pounds worth of jewellery and personal items were stolen. They were arrested a day later in the same car. A large amount of stolen items were found in the vehicle they were in. Mansbridge, 57, of no fixed address was found guilty by the jury following a four day trial at Lewes Crown Court on April 2. Preston, 42, of no fixed address pleaded guilty to the charge. They were sentenced to a combined seven years’ imprisonment when they appeared before Lewes Crown Court on June 24. Mansbridge was jailed for four years and Preston was jailed for three years. Photo: Sussex Police
43. Locked up in Sussex 2024: These are some of the criminals jailed between May and August
A man has been jailed for drug offences following a stop-search in Eastbourne. Police were patrolling Trinity Trees on June 8 at around 3pm, when they saw a man pass on drugs to a group of people on two different occasions. He was intercepted by police at around 5pm. Following a stop-search, drugs, money, and a large knife was found. He was arrested and was later identified as Kieran Martin. Martin, 24, of St Martins Crescent, South Heighton was later charged with possession of a knife in a public place, supplying Class A drugs, and possession with intent to supply Class A drugs. He appeared before Lewes Crown Court on July 8 and pleaded guilty to all three charges. Martin was sentenced to five years and seven months’ imprisonment. Photo: Sussex Police
44. Locked up in Sussex 2024: These are some of the criminals jailed between May and August
A dangerous driver caused a fatal collision with a cyclist because he was distracted by using his mobile phone at the wheel. Terry Varndell used his phone for texts and calls in the moments before striking cyclist David Breen in Chichester. He then failed to stop at the scene of the collision on the A286 Main Road at Birdham. Mr Breen, 26, tragically died at the scene minutes later. Varndell, 37, was not insured to drive his Vauxhall Zafira. At Portsmouth Crown Court Varndell, formerly a refuse worker of Middleton Close, Bracklesham Bay, was found guilty by a jury of causing death by dangerous driving. On August 5, he was sentenced to six years in prison, was disqualified from driving for eight years with a requirement to complete an extended driving test before he would be allowed to drive again. The court heard how the incident happened at about 8.10pm on October 26, 2021. Other motorists had seen Mr Breen cycling with lights on along the straight road, and they all passed him safely. But phone records showed Varndell had made numerous texts and calls while driving. It included calls in the moments immediately before the collision. Mr Breen, originally from County Kerry in Ireland, had been living in Chichester and was cycling home after playing football. Photo: Sussex Police